There are several ways of determining the centre of Canada giving different locations.

Longitude

There is a sign on the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...

at 96°48'35"W (slightly east of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

) proclaiming it the

longitudinal Longitudinal is a geometric term of location which may refer to: * Longitude ** Line of longitude, also called a meridian * Longitudinal engine, an internal combustion engine in which the crankshaft is oriented along the long axis of the vehicl ...

centre of Canada; in effect, the north-south line midway between the

extreme points of Canada The following lists include extreme and significant points of the geography of Canada. __TOC__ All Canada *Northernmost point — Cape Columbia, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut *Southernmost point — South point of Middle Island, Ontar ...

on the east and west, including islands (including Newfoundland since 1949).

Latitude

The

latitudinal In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

centre of Canada (including islands, but excluding Canada's claim to the North Pole) is a line at 62 degrees 24 minutes North.

Intersection of latitude and longitude

The intersection of these two lines is one definition of the centre point of Canada, as explained by the

Atlas of Canada The Atlas of Canada (french: L'Atlas du Canada) is an online atlas published by Natural Resources Canada that has information on every city, town, village, and hamlet in Canada. It was originally a print atlas, with its first edition being publishe ...

's website: The nearest inhabited places to this point are

Baker Lake, Nunavut Baker Lake (Inuktitut syllabics: ᖃᒪᓂᑦᑐᐊᖅ 'big lake joined by a river at both ends', Inuktitut: ''Qamani'tuaq'' 'where the river widens') is a hamlet in the Kivalliq Region, in Nunavut on mainland Canada. Located inland from Hudson ...

well to the north, and

Arviat Arviat (, syllabics: ᐊᕐᕕᐊᑦ; formerly called Eskimo Point until 1 June 1989) is a predominantly Inuit hamlet located on the western shore of Hudson Bay in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, Canada. Arviat ("place of the bowhead whale") is ...

to the east.

Pole of inaccessibility

The

pole of inaccessibility A pole of inaccessibility with respect to a geographical criterion of inaccessibility marks a location that is the most challenging to reach according to that criterion. Often it refers to the most distant point from the coastline, implying a ...

of Canada (the point furthest from any coastline or land border) is near Jackfish River,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

at 34-115-17-W4 (Latitude: 59°2′ 60 N, Longitude: 112°49′ 60 W). (

Pole of inaccessibility A pole of inaccessibility with respect to a geographical criterion of inaccessibility marks a location that is the most challenging to reach according to that criterion. Often it refers to the most distant point from the coastline, implying a ...

says 59 1 48 and 112 49 12.)

References

External links

The centre of controversy: Where is Canada's middle?
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Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

{{GeographicalCenters Geographical centres Geography of Canada